Rats in the city of Edinburgh: Then and Now
Deep beneath Edinburgh’s Royal Mile lies a dark secret. Once rife with the plague, a narrow close is buried underground in Edinburgh’s City Chambers.
Mary King’s Close is located in the centre of Edinburgh’s Old Town, next to the Edinburgh City Chambers. The close was named after Mary King in 1630, a fabric merchant who built her own business after her husband’s death.
It was 1644 when the plague hit Edinburgh. The narrow closes were overcrowded and provided the perfect breeding ground for the plague and it hit Edinburgh hard. Without a proper sewer system, residents simply dumped waste into the streets below. Rats ran wild in the close carrying fleas with them everywhere they went. When the fleas became infected with the bacterium Yersinia pestis, better known as the bubonic plague or “The Black Death,” it spelled disaster for residents of Mary King’s Close.
In 2003, the network of closes re-opened as a visitor attraction called The Real Mary King’s Close. Giving historical tours of underground Edinburgh and an amazing insight into our city’s rich past.
Do you smell a rat?
Contact the experts: Anglo Scottish Pest Control
Only last year, a block of flats in the heart of Edinburgh’s city centre was riddled with vermin left to run wild.
Speaking anonymously to Edinburgh Live, a tenant of the Cowgate block, run by Castle Rock Edinvar on behalf of Places for People, says “dead rats” are being found in people’s homes. They also feel let down by their landlord and local authority in dealing with the issue. The building is a short walk from Mary King’s Close. Perhaps their ancestors brought the plague to Edinburgh 400 years ago!
The problem has not been adequately addressed for years and that “huge rats” are often seen running around the stairwell and communal bins. Neighbours claim that rats are often spotted in broad daylight travelling between council-owned black street bins and the stairwell bin storage.
Our rodent control service can help eradicate a rat or mouse problem at your home or business.
